Louis mustch



(No Model.)

L. MINOR.

GASK.

No. 355,195. Patented Deo. 28, 1886.v

m; Sg- 1%:

PETERS, Phola-Lthngnpher. Waahiugon, DIC.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS MINCH, OF HIGHLANDTOWN, MARYLAND.

CASK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,195, dated December28, 1886,

Application ed August 26, 1836. Serial No. 211,910. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Y Beit known that I, LOUIS MINCH, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Highlandtown, in the county of Baltimore and State ofMaryland, haveinvented certannewand useful Improvements in Casks; andIdo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as wi1l` enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of casks orlarge barrels for beer and other malt liquors.

The object of the invention is to provide means for gaining access tothe interior of the large casks or barrels used in breweries, &c., forstoring beer, ale, or other malt liquors, wines, &c., and from whichthese are drawn into small kegs or bottles; and it is well known thatsaid casks or barrels require thorough cleaning or repitching, dsc., andtherefore access must be had to the interior, and a large opening isrequired, which mustbe closed securelyand so as to preventleakage,asthepressure in such casks or barrels is often very great,

being caused bythe generation of carbonio and lother gases, or also byfermentation, Src. 5 and with this object in view my invention consistsin providing said casks, barrels, or hogsheads with a large opening inthe head for gaining access to the interior, and closing said opening bya plate bedded against a packing in the edges of a frame secured to thecask on' itssides and top, while the lower ends of its sides, as

well as the bottom of the plate, it into the croze of the cask topreventleakage, and said plate is arranged on the inside of the barrelor cask and lits against said metal frame secured, as stated,

Fig. 2 is a front view of the frame and plate for the opening. Fig. 3 isa vertical sectionon the line a: x of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A represents a large cask, barrel, or hogshead havingthe heads aand b. In the head c an opening, c, is made for gainingaccess to the'interior of said cask, 5to. This opening is made close tothe bottom, and is preferably of the shape shown in Fig. 2, in which theupper part is semicircular, while the lower part conforms to the contourof the cask or barrel. Around the opening, on three sides, is closelyiitted a frame, B, ot' metal or other suitable material, which issecurely bolted to the head of the barrel by bolts d,whileitslower sidefits i'nto the croze of the cask, notches being cut inthe croze toreceive the ilanged en ds of the iframe B. The frameis made beveling,and has alange, e, bearing against the inner side of the head, whileanother liange or seat, f, serves as a bearing-surface for the plate C.This 'plate is rabbeted on three of its edges, and between it and theframe any suitable packing, f', of rubber or other material, isplaced,while the lower edge of said plate is placed in the croze of thccask to form a tight joint when the plate C is clamped to its seat.Abolt,D,passes through the plate, and a clamping-bar, E, ex-

tends across the frame on its outer side and I firmly secures theplatein its-A place.

To prevent any displacement of the frame B transversely from the head a,suitable woodscrews orbolts, g, are employed, as best seen in Fig. 3,while thelongitudiualstrain istaken by the bolts d, which are providedwith nuts d', to secure them more firmly and prevent the 'pulling out ofthe head.

The size of the frame and door-plate may be.

varied as. desired and according to the size of the barrel or hogsheadfor which it is intended. Any -number of bolts may be used to secure theframe.

The operation is as follows: The frameis first secu rely fastened inplace on the head of the barrel by the longitudinal and transversebolts,

and after it has been washed out, repaired, Y

scraped, pitched, Ste., the plaie is drawn up to its-recessed seat, andis then secured by the clamping-bar and bolt and nut.

It will be readily seen and understood by those skilled in the art thatthis device is Very simple and eiieient. It can be readily applied toold as well as new barrels, easks, Snc. It affords an easy and largespace for gaining aecess to the interior. The gumwasher may be insert-edin a groove, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

' l. The combination of a barrel, Cask, &c., having a metal framesecured by bolts on three sides, and with the lower ends of its sidesinthe Croze, as shown, with a plate rabbeted on three of its edges andsecured against a packing on the seat and in the croze by abolt and nutand a clampbar7 all as shown and specified.

LOUIS MINCH.

W itnesses:

LoUIs BEYER, T. C. BRECHT.

